Clip for venetian blind slats



Deg. 30, 1947. J. w. PETERSON 'ET AL 2,433,529

CLIP FOR VENETIAN BLIND SLATS Filed April 5, 1945 INVEI'VTOR. r/omv /4 PETERSON, By 2:75.555 5. C cope-2,

Patented Dec. 30, 1947 UNETED STATES TENT orrlcs CLIP FOR VENETIAN BLIND SLATS John W. Peterson,

Cooper, San

tional Venetian Blind Calif., a corporation of Application April 5, 1945, Serial No. 586,756

12 Claims.

This invention relates to Venetian blinds and more particularly to a device which is in the nature of an accessory for a Venetian blind slat and which when operatively installed upon the slats of a Venetian blind makes possible the removal, as for the purpose of inspection, cleansing, repair or replacement, any one or more of the blind slats without having to disassemble the complete blind as has been necessary heretofore.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an accessory for a Venetian blind slat of the general character indicated which permits tilting the slats of the blind to more nearly completely closed relationship with respect to one another than can Venetian blind slats of conventional de-' sign and arrangement.

It is customary practice to construct Venetian blinds of a plurality of slats suspended in vertically spaced, parallel arrangement, by ladder tapes susceptible of adjustment whereby the slats can be tilted to various degrees of angularity. When in fully open position, the slats are disposed in horizontal planes, i. e., in planes parallel to each other and perpendicular to the plane of the blind, which usually is vertical, although Venetian blinds are ometimes mounted in planes other than vertical. In the case of the conventional blind, tilting of the slats to fully closed position is impossible, for the reason that the elevating cord extends through aligned slots in the several slats, and when the slats approach their position of maximum tilt, the cord is squeezed between the material of one slat at the end of the slot therein and the edge of the next adjacent slat, with the result that the said edge of the next adjacent slat is prevented from coming in actual contact with the slat having the said slot. In other words, the edges of adjacent slats are held apart a distance corresponding to the thickness of the cord which passes therebetween when the slats are in position of their maximum tilt, and accordingly the blind cannot be made as nearly light tight as would be the case were it possible to tilt the slats until they make actual contact with each other. The present invention seeks to provide an attachment for a Venetian blind slat which makes it feasible to relieve or extend the slot through which the elevating cord extends, to the extent that one end of the slot extends to and through the associated side edge of its slat, thus leaving that end of the slot open and dispensing with all of the material of the slat which otherwise would become engaged with the cord when the slats approach their maximum tilting position and thereby prevent the associated edge of that slat from making actual contact with the next adjacent slat. Whereas we are aware that Venetian blind slats have been produced in the past with the routed cord slot opening at one end to a side edge of the slat, it is a fact that such construction has proved not to be commercially feasible for the reason that when in ordinary use the cord is most apt to become disengaged from the slot in the slat and thereby permit inadvertent release of the slat from its proper position with relation to the other slats of the blind. It is another object of our invention, therefore, to provide an attachment for a Venetian blind slat, the routed cord slot of which has been extended to and through one side edge of the slat, which attachment includes means urging the otherwise open end of the slot and thereby prevent inadvertent release of the cord from the cord slot.

It is a more detailed object in this same connection to provide a slot-bridging means as described which occupies such position when the attachment is operatively installed upon the slat, that it does not interfere with the cord when the slats are swung to closed position and which, therefore, permits complete closing of the slats of the blind so that they make actual contact with each other and thereby make a much more nearly light-tight blind.

Yet another object is to provide a slot-bridging device as described which is in the nature of a resilient clip adapted to be slipped in place upon the edge of the slat after the cord has been properly installed in the routed cord slot of the slat and adapted to be retained thus in operative position by the inherent resiliency of the material of which the clip itself is constructed, thus obviating the necessity of providing additional means for fastening the clip in operative position upon the slat.

A further object is to design the slat-gripping portion of the clip in such a manner that, although it engages the slat with sufiicient security to assure its retention in operative position during all normal uses of the blind, it is adapted to be removed from the slat easily and quickly, this being a feature which permits ready removal of any one or more of the slats of a blind equipped with the clip of the present invention whereby each removed slat can readily be inspected, cleansed, repaired or replaced, without the necessity of disassembling the entire blind.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an attachment for a Venetian blind slat of the general character indicated which will be relatively simple and inexpensive in construction and yet which will be capable of operating with perfect efiiciency in performing the function for which it has been designed.

The invention possesses other objects and valuable features, some of which, with those enumerated, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiment of our invention illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming a part of the specification. It is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to the showing made by said drawing and description but that we may adopt variations of the preferred form within the scope of our invention as defined by the claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a transverse, vertical sectional view taken through the upper portion of a Venetian blind upon the slats of which have been installed clips embodying the principles of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a detailed plan view showing a portion of one of the slats of the blind of Figure 1 and the slot-bridging clip in operative position thereupon.

Figure 3 is a view in edge elevation of the portion of the slat of Figure 2, the direction of view being indicated by the arrow ,3 of that figure.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 showing a modified form of slot-bridging and cord-retaining clip.

Figure 5 is a view in edge elevation of the slat and clip of Figure 4, the direction of view being indicated by the arrow 5 of that figure.

Figure 1 illustrates a part of a Venetian blind employing a plurality of wooden slats suspended in spaced parallel arrangement by means of ladder tapes |2 comprising vertical members |3 interconnected at regular intervals by cross members in upon which the slats rest. The upper ends of the vertical members l3 are attached to opposite edges of a tilt rail IE pivotally mounted, as by suitable axially aligned brackets H at the end of the tilt rail, below the supporting, or head rail |8. Suitable means (not shown) are usually supplied for tilting the tilt rail l6; and the effect of such tilting of the tilt rail I6 is similarly to tilt all of the cross members M of the ladder tapes l2 and the several slats I supported thereupon, thus maintaining the slats parallel to each other, but making possible their adjustment to any of various degrees of tilt. Since the blind illustrated is suspended in a vertical plane, the slats thereof are vertically spaced and are disposed in a horizontal plane when they are in fully open position. As illustrated, however, the slats have been tilted to positions wherein they approach their fully closed position, wherein the inner edge of an upper slat overlaps the outer edge of the next adjacent slat therebelow. Because of the benefits derived from the clip of the present invention, the slats H can be swung to even more completely closed position than that in which they are illustrated in Figure 1 wherein the slats are displaced from truly vertical arrangement only by so much as is required by their being in overlapping arrangement with the lower edge of one slat actually in contact with the upper edge of the next adjacent slat below it. Such complete clo sure of the slats has been impossible in the case of conventionally constructed Venetian blinds because of the fact that most Venetian blinds are provided with means for raising the lowermost slat and for gathering the slats thereabove successively thereupon as the raising is continued,

whereby the effective length of the blind is decreased, leaving the lower portion of the opening with which the blind is associated unobstructed. The customary form taken by this elevating means is that of a cord 2| passing down from the head rail l8 through aligned slots 22 in the several slats H to be attached to the lowermost slat, or bottom rail (not shown), so that when the cord 2| is pulled upward, the slats are successively gathered upon the bottom rail and thus raised. If this raising of the bottom rail is continued until all of the slats H are gathered thereupon, the blind will be fully collapsed at the upper portion of the window or other opening with which the blind is associated. In the case of conventionally constructed Venetian blind slats, the cord slots 22 which are routed therein have been closed at both ends, each end of each slot being spaced inward from the proximal edge of the slat Consequently, as the slats of the conventional blind approach their position of maximum tilt, their coming into actual contact with each other is prevented inasmuch as the elevating cord must pass between the upper edge of one slat and the lower edge of the slat immediately above. Therefore, although in the conventional blind, the slats are disposed in overlapping arrangement when fully tilted, they fail actually to touch each other and hence fall short of moving to fully closed position by so much as is necessary to accommodate the cord between opposed edges of adjacent slats. The amount of light thus permitted to pass through the blind is sometimes objectionable; and it is for the purpose of obviating this disadvantageous feature of conventionally constructed Venetian blinds that the device of the present invention has been designed.

We accomplish this by relieving each of the cord slots 22 in each slat I I to such an extent that the slots 22 extend all the way to and through the associated side edge 23 of the slat thereby removing all of the material of the slat H which would come into engagement with the elevation cord 2| as the slat approaches its position of steepest tilt, i. e., its most nearly completely closed position. Hence, instead of being closed at both ends as heretofore has been the case in customary slats, theseslots 22 are open at one end and extend inwards from the edge 23 of the slat H to the closed end 24 of the slot which is spaced a sufiicient distance from the opposite edge 26 of the slat H to impart the necessary strength to the slat. However, if, after the elevating cord 2| has been installed in such a slat the open end of the slot 22 were left open, the slat I might become disengaged from the cord 2| by passage of the cord out from the slot 22 through its open end, thus making it possible for the slat to become dislodged from its proper position within the blind and with relation to the other slat |l thereof. It is for the purpose of preventing this possibility that the slot-bridging clip of the present invention has been designed. This clip 21 for closing the otherwise open end 28 of the slot 22 conveniently takes the form of preferably a two part U-shaped body portion 29, each part 30 of which comprises two spaced, parallel legs 3| joined by a web 32 substantially corresponding in length to the thickness of the slat upon which the clip is to be engaged. The clip is formed of suitable resilient material and is of such design that its legs 3| must be spread slightly in order to press the clips onto an edge of the slat so that inherent resiliency of the material of which the clip 21 is formed serves to retain the clip in operative position upon the slat H. The two parts 30 of the body portion 29 of the clip 21 are joined by a bridging strip or finger 33 which reaches across the slot 22, it being understood of course that the clip 2? is installed upon the slat I! with one of the two parts 3c of the Ushaped body portion 2%} disposed upon each side of the slot 22. Thus the bridging strip or finger 33 serves effectually to close the slot 22 against escape of the cord 2! through the otherwise open end 28 of the slot.

As clearly shown in Figure 3, the bridging finger 33, instead of being straight, is curved in such a manner that it extends outwards beyond the plane of the proximal face of the slat i i and away from the cord 2! and thus increases the effective size of the relieved portion of the slat which is provided for the accommodation of the cord 2] by extending around the cord 25 when the slats ll of the blind are tilted to their most nearly completely closed position. Since the finger 33 of each clip 27 is carried by corresponding legs 3!, i. e., by legs 3% upon the same side of the two parts so of the body portion 25, and, since the finger 33 is ofifset outwards substantially beyond the space 3 of the slat i i which those legs 3! engage, the recess which the offset finger 33 defines for the cord ii is adequately deep to permit the cord to pass not only completely through the associated lateral side edge of the slat l l, but also for a substantial distance therebeyond, with the result that the slat i i can be swung to even more nearly completely closed position than that in which they are illustrated in Figure 1. In fact, because of the depth of the recess provided by the arcuate nature of the finger 33, the slats can be swung closed far enough to permit their lateral edges actually to make contact with each other, thereby substantially completely closing the blind.

Inasmuch as the clips 2? are retained in position upon their respective slats l l by the inherent resiliency of the material of which the clips are formed and hence by friction alone, they are readily removable from the slat, thus leaVlng the end of the slots 22 open, with the result that the slats can readily be removed from the cord and tape of the blind. This permits more facile in spection, cleansing, repair and replacement of any one or more of the slats l I without having to dismantle the entire blind as heretofore has been the case.

Figure 4 illustrates a modified form of clip for performing the same function as those of the modification already described. In this form, the body portion 4| of the clip i2 is designed to be mounted upon the slat ll upon only one side of the slot 22. Hence, the body portion All prefer ably corresponds substantially in shape and size to only one of the two parts 30 of the body portion 29 of the previously described modification 2'3. Extending laterally from one side edge of the body portion All is an arcuate finger 33 of substantially the same general configuration as the bridgin strip or finger 33 of the previously de scribed modification, with the exception that it terminates preferably just short of making actual contact with the slat H upon the opposite side of the slot 22 from that upon which the body portion 4! engaged.

Owing to the fact that the clip 2? first described engages the slat H on both sides of the slot 22 with the strip 33 bridgin the otherwise open end of the slot 22, this form may under some circumstances of installation be considered as preferable owing to the added strength imparted to the slat by the rigid interconnection between the two parts of the body portion 29 extending across the otherwise open end of the slat ll. However, inasmuch as the closed end 26 of the slot 22 is spaced at a substantial distance from the associated edge 26 of the slat ll, many circumstances of installation will permit use of the clip 42 wherein the bridging finger $3 is positively connected to the slat ll upon only one side of the slot 22, reliance being placed upon the material of the slat ll between the end 26 of the slot and the associated edge 26 for the strength necessary to hold all parts of the slat substantially in planar alignment.

We claim:

1. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot bein relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, said attachment comprising fastening means secured to said slat adjacent said slot, and means carried by said fastening means substantially closing said relieved end of said slot and extending substantially thereacross in position offset from the associated slat to extend around said cord without substantially deflecting said cord when said slat is in said extreme position.

2. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot bein relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, said attachment comprising a clip attached to an edge of said slat adjacent the slot therein and a finger extending laterally therefrom substantially across said slot.

3. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, said attachment comprising a clip attached to an edge of said slat adjacent said slot therein and a finger extending laterally therefrom substantially across said slot, said finger being offset from the plane of said slat to extend past said cord without substantial deflection of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

4. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, said attachment comprising a clip attached to an edge of said slat adjacent said slot therein and a finger extending laterally therefrom substantially across said slot, said finger being offset from the plane of said slat and curved to extend around said cord without substantial deflection of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

5. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end to accommodate said cord when said slat is tilted, and means for restraining said cord against passage out of said relieved end of said slot comprising a clip attached to an edge of said slat and extending substantially across said relieved end, a portion of said clip being in registry with said relieved end and being indented to provide a recess to accommodate said cord when said slat is tilted.

6. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, and means substantially closing said relieved end of said slot and comprising a U-shaped clip of resilient material embracing an edge of the associated slat and releasably retained thereon by its own resilient pressure and a finger carried by said clip and extending substantially across said slot, said finger having a recess therein for the reception of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

'7. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, and means closing said relieved end of said slot and comprising a U-shaped clip of resilient material embracing an edge of the associated slat and releasably retained thereon adjacent one side of said slot by its own resilient pressure and a, finger carried by said clip and extendin across said slot, said finger having a recess therein for the reception of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

8. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, and means closing said relieved end of said slot and comprising a U-shaped clip of resilient material embracing an edge of the associated slat and releasably retained thereon adjacent one side of said slot by its own resilient pressure, a finger carried by said clip and extending across said slot, said finger having a recess therein for the reception of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position, and means releasably attaching said finger to said slat on the opposite side of said slot.

9. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, and means closing said relieved end of said slot and comprising a two-part U-shaped clip of resilient material, said parts embracing an edge of the associated slat upon opposite sides of said slot and releasably retained thereon by their own resilient pressure, and

means carried by both of said parts of said clip bridging said slot and having a recesstherein for the reception of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

10. An attachment for a tiltable Venetian blind slat having a slot for an elevating cord, said slot being relieved at at least one end thereof to accommodate said cord when said slat is in extreme tilted position, and means closing said relieved end of said slot and comprising a two-part U-shaped clip of resilient material, said parts embracing an edge of the associated slat upon opposite sides of said slot and releasably retained thereon by their own resilient pressure, and means rigid with both of said parts of said clip bridging said slot and having a recess therein for the reception of said cord when said slat is in said extreme tilted position.

11. As an accessory for a Venetian blind slat having an open-ended slot therein, a U-shaped clip adapted to embrace an edge of said slat and to be releasably retained thereon by its own resiliency and a finger extending laterally from said clip in position substantially to bridge said slot in said slat, said finger being offset laterally with respect to the plane of said slat.

12. As an accessory for a Venetian blind slat having an open-ended slot therein, a clip comprising a pair of U-shaped parts adapted to embrace an edge of said slat on opposite sides of said slot and to be releasably retained thereon by their own resiliency, and a finger carried by both of said clip parts in position to bridge said slot, said finger being ofiset laterally with respect to the plane of said slat.

, JOHN W. PETERSON.

JESSE E. COOPER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,202,752 Brenner May 28, 1940 2,254,704 Morse Sept. 2, 1941 2,292,338 Levy Aug. 4, 1942 

